Juxtaposition is a simple technique that comedy writers employ when they’re wrestling with the blank page. I had a fun visit with Marcia Riefer Johnston at the Content Marketing Institute about how marketers can use this approach to quickly generate a bunch of ideas.

Improv Exercise

We did a fun improv exercise at Social Media Marketing World in San Diego during my creative writing session. I asked the audience for two suggestions, and they offered “circus” and “bacon.” Together we applied the juxtaposition technique to inspire new ideas. We discovered a few new patterns that led to a video concept, and a completed script. And only seven minutes earlier, we had nothing but a blank page.

It’s not only the folks in corporate communications and marketing that are tasked with sharpening their storytelling chops. Being able to communicate and persuade through story has become more of a critical skill set for all career paths. By spending five minutes a day with this exercise, anyone can become much more creative and sharpen their writing skills. If you don’t have access to an audience of 200 people to offer suggestions, try a random word generator.

Part of producing a corporate comedy video for YouTube, Facebook, etc, is the approval process. I’ll often face the objection, supported by research, from a committee member arguing that not everyone will appreciate the humor. Possibly a small business owner in Burma. ‘Our content needs to be global.’

As with most worthwhile projects I stumble into, when DJ Waldow and Nick Westergaard invited me to be on The Work Talk Show, I felt unqualified. But I said yes anyway. To avoid sounding unqualified, I scrambled to come up with anything that sounded like a step or a process or an iPad app that I use to get work done, but we never really got around to those bullet points. Like a good improv show, we started out with a little structure, and found ourselves on a much more fascinating path.

I confessed to the hosts that I have no idea how I get work done, and it seems like most of the time I am notgetting work done. My projects usually start with a request like, “Hey, can you produce a funny YouTube video to amplify our marketing message for the upcoming product launch?” I’ll say yes, then block off the next 4 -5 hours to feel unqualified. Day 2 in the project schedule is usually dedicated to self-loathing, and by EOD, I’ve concluded I shouldn’t even be in corporate comedy and should apply for a lateral move into Accounts Payable or Procurement. The following morning I’ll stop at a coffee shop and write the script in seven minutes on a napkin and ATM receipts. And the video comes out okay.

But instead of discussing work process on this show, we discussed how more comedy and humor in the workplace can improve creativity, productivity, and make us all taller. And, as with all business podcasts, we covered Del Close and The Harold.

I’m only just not coming to peace with this way of working. And I was comforted after listening to the first Work Talk Show episode of this year. Seth Godin proclaimed that the industrial economy has been replaced by the Connection Economy, which rewards surprise, grit, delight and ridiculousness. What we get paid for now is by standing for something, and by overcoming the fear of being remarkable and ridiculous.

As part of the WhatsNextDC keynote this week, I shared a few simple and inexpensive approaches on how to produce corporate videos for YouTube: Humor, cinematography, information and history/documentary. Here’s the slide deck (with a bunch of extra text added). It includes a few examples from an IBM smarter planet animation that was part of the PRSA Silver Anvil award-winning campaign, a comedy voted “Staff Favorite” in Comedy Central’s “Test Pilots” contest, and a 2013 Webby Honoree.

I’ll update this later today with a few photos, tweets. It was a blast to emcee. Thank you, Tod Plotkin and all the folks at Green Buzz Agency for producing an outstanding social media conference.

I’m often asked what is the value of using humor in social media and marketing efforts. While I can’t always make the case that a :60 YouTube comedy is going to inspire an impulsive purchase of a $100,000 piece of hardware, comedy helps corporate videos stand out and be remembered among the clutter. NBC News reports that 72 hours of video content is uploaded to YouTube every minute, so it is becoming more and more difficult to get noticed.

The spot, while completely absurd and ridiculous, helped us amplify an important marketing message during a product launch over three years ago. It earned press coverage in The New York Times, NetworkWorld and other trade magazines; and David Meerman Scott referenced it as a best practice example in his bestselling book Real-Time Marketing & PR.

And here we are, more than three years later, and it’s being presented to a group of B2B marketers and influencers, and the social buzz continues from some of B2B’s top influencers, including Ann Handley, Margaret Molloy and Marissa Pick.

I don’t think Michael Brenner sold any routers for us today, although if he did, I’m sure he’ll DM me about his commission check.

John Wall and Christopher Penn produce a brilliant podcast called Marketing Over Coffee, and I joined for the Thanksgiving holiday special. Their series is one of the best ways to stay current on the wonderful world of social media marketing and tools. It’s loaded with excellent tips that can improve your success in social business, although not this week. We talked more about producing content and some approaches to using comedy in B2B social; as well as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and upcoming BlogWorld in Las Vegas.

Cancel your plans for Nov 14-15 and catch the Greyhound to Portlandia. Jason Falls and the Social Media Explorer crew make their next tour stop in the City of Roses. I learned so much from the event in Orange County last week, and met some great folks, including OakMonster, who cracked me up with this image:

This doctrine has defined my success as a communicator.

Falls’ event also taught me a few things about what to look for when choosing a conference speakers who have deep domain expertise in marketing and social media, and are also entertaining and inspirational. Here are a few presenter characteristics:

1) Numbers guy.Larry Rosin clearly has a passion for standard deviations, and he combed through the pie charts in an entertaining fashion. He told us that political campaign yard signs have a surprising influence on voters. Uh-oh. Larry also revealed that the stories we hear about the death of Facebook come from traditional media — there are no data to support this claim. As I’ve often said, don’t let facts get in the way of a good story. I’d recommend looking through the Social Habit Report.

2) Vulnerability. While most of the presentations will change how I conduct my business, Courtney Seiter’s opening will change how I conduct my life. She opened with quotes about a friend who passed away recently. At the memorial service, everyone was reflecting what a good, guine listener her friend had been, and how he asked questions. “It’s amazing to see the effect that someone paying attention to other people can have.” It was a moving way to begin her presentation, The art of being interested. She went on to walk us through a vast array of tools, demonstrating how we can show our interest in people on social media.

The art of being interested

Courtney Seiter

3) Knowledge of Market Trends. Tim Hayden‘s presentation, “All of Your Marketing is Mobile, You Just Don’t Know It” was full of actionable ideas that I’ve already started implemented.

4) Good Teacher. What is truly remarkable about Marcus Sheridan was simplicity in which he lays out an inbound marketing / social media plan that anyone can implement. In short, quit talking about yourself and become a good teacher. Use your blog to answer the questions your prospective customers have. His free e-book shares all the detail.

Edgar Rolando Diaz Emes was the first to reply when I was looking for help to film a telecom exec in Latin America. He works for Telefonica Moviles in Guatemala, so I figured he’d have some tips. He responded even faster than my former college roommate, maybe because I don’t owe him for a semester’s worth of cable bills.

Edgar helped me as if we were longtime buddies, although I had only talked with him briefly at a MarketingProfs event. But that’s the kind of immediate camaraderie you fall into with this group. Possibly because it’s helmed by Ann Handley, known in the industry as the “Brad Pitt of B2B Social Media.” She and her crew share a contagious spirit of fun and encouragement, along with a profound knowledge of social business.

The presentations are some of the most practical and useful I’ve seen at any conference. Think of it as SXSW without the tacos. It’s clear from the speakers that their intent is to authentically share “here’s what worked, here’s what failed, and here’s what we’ll try next time.” As part of a case study panel, Elbert Lin discussed Boeing’s Design Your Own Dreamliner app, Michael Brenner gave the backstory on SAP’s Business Innovation blog, I talked about how we produced a B2B documentary on a shoestring budget; and offered a few ideas on how to find a storyline and produce it inexpensively. And then we had a little more fun in the closing session. [see video]

If your life involves creating content or storytelling in B2B or even B2C, you should join us in Boston, Oct 3-5, for the B2B Forum. It will be a fun and inspirational time — the opening keynote is Baratunde Thurston, former director of digital at The Onion. You’ll leave with a list of brilliant yet simple ideas you can start to implement the following week, and a dozen new friends who will support your social marketing projects and reply to you faster than your jaded college roommate.

I shared a few comedy videos at the Wall Street Journal Digital Download event Wednesday. My buddy John Havens discussed his recent Mashable article on Accountability Based Influence. Then, the traditional celebration after a corporate comedy performance — a cheeseburger.

There are a few burgers so luxurious that they require you to wear cufflinks. DB Bistro Modenrne’s sirloin burger stuffed with braised short ribs, foie gras and black truffle demands such reverence. Its price is $32, and that doesn’t include cheese. But since it’s served on a Parmesan bun, and certainly the most decadent burger I’ll savor in my lifetime, I’ll count this experience for the cheeseburger blog.

After the show, I went with the WSJ gang to indulge and laugh too loudly for a swanky restaurant. A sentimental time for me as it was the same crew I was with when I launched the Cheeseburger & Comedy blog series at the New York Comedy Festival in 2009, sans Ricky Gervais. Sometimes I feel like adults shouldn’t have this much fun. But that feeling soon passes. Thanks Melissa for setting this up! (Pics below are from our first soirée)